In the wake of rapidly progressing technology, educational institutions are searching for more innovative uses of educational technologies to teach the new kind of students who are entering into these institutions. The Net Generation (NG), are believed to have grown up surrounded by technology and this poses a challenge of understanding how well-designed technology improvements can enhance a student's educational experience. The main reason as to incorporating technology with education is without a doubt to improve a student's engagement and learning. There is increasing interest in the application of cognitive neuroscience in educational practice to advice on how to improve the learning content to have a more positive impact on the NG with an understanding of the brain. Research does show that if technology is not weaned correctly, can have negative effects and addictive behaviours emerge such as craving, concealing, and lying. There is no link, to the author's knowledge, between these scientific findings of neuroscience and advising institutions on changes and implementations necessary to the learning material. This study sets out to link the three; using Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development as the guide of the different categories of the NG and a detailed literature review of other theories of this phenomenon, the three elements (Learning, Technology and Neuroscience) were investigated. Using secondary analysis the researcher was able to analyse different data sets of the different age groups as stipulated by Piaget's Theory. Each study sought to investigate the NG with different learning MTs and the effects it had on them. The results were ran through different statistical tests revealing positive links of the three aforementioned elements. The findings asserted that students learning with these multimedia obtained significantly greater learning achievement in comparison to those who were not. Not only so, but these same students were also more motivated by using technology in the classroom for learning and exhibited increased functional connectivity during their engagement. Finally, the three elements were linked by developing a life-stage technology consumption model that will be capable of guiding instructors, NG and the consumers of various MTs.

The concept of alignment has been addressed in the context of various divisions within organizations but very little research investigates the alignment of the roles within specific sub-units in an organization. Research shows evidence of a misalignment between the role of the software tester and the software developer in software development teams specifically in organizations that adopt agile methodologies to manage their software development projects. It is this misalignment between these two roles and the lack of research on the factors that influence this phenomenon that prompted the study. The study aims to investigate the factors which influence misalignment between developers and testers in agile organizations with specific focus on the social dimension of alignment contrary to most studies that merely address the intellectual dimension of alignment. The research methodology followed a positivist, quantitative and deductive approach. An online questionnaire was designed and distributed to respondents in South Africa (SA) and United States of America (USA). The results show that there are four factors that have an overall influence on the misalignment between developers and testers in agile software development teams. These factors are (1) process non-compliance combined with lack of accountability, (2) conflicting interpersonal skills, (3) lack of shared domain knowledge, specifically lack of developers' knowledge about testing and (4) poor collaboration. Future research can proceed to identify the strategies that agile organizations can adopt alleviate this problem of misalignment.

Background: Governments often provide support to Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs) to ensure that they are sustainable. Micro-enterprises play an important role in the economic and socio-economic development of developing countries. However, the majority of micro-enterprises find it challenging to survive or to grow due to numerous challenges they experience. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) could assist micro-enterprises to grow and be competitive. E-Government has been internationally advocated to improve the delivery of government information. However, African governments are experiencing challenges that limit the success of e-Government. This has resulted in limited accessibility. Purpose of the research: The objective of the study is to investigate the challenges that micro-enterprises experience in accessing support information using e-Government websites in a developing country context. To achieve that the study describes the challenges experienced, analyses the types of support information accessed and identifies the Information and Communication Technology devices used to access support information. Design/methodology/approach: This multidisciplinary study adopted a constructivist approach and used an interpretive paradigm. The study was guided by Sen’s Capability Approach as a theoretical framework, and thematically analysed patterns between context, capabilities and outcomes. Data for the study was collected using semi-structured interviews. Furthermore, annual reports, published statistics and additional documents were also used as secondary data. Purposive and snowballing sampling were used to target established micro-enterprises in the Western Cape, South Africa. Findings: Micro-enterprises gained several benefits of using ICT for general business activities. These included improved access to information, improved communication, improved marketing, reduced costs and improved efficiency and productivity. Microenterprises also experienced several challenges with accessing support information using e-Government websites. These included content, structure, design, language availability and red tape. Support information relating to business skills development, products and services development and funding were mostly accessed. Furthermore, micro-enterprises mostly used laptops and mobile phones to access support information. Practical implications: The findings indicate that if micro-enterprises could access support information using e-Government websites, it could have a positive impact on their businesses such as improved competitiveness. Finally, the study uncovered that access to support information could also have a positive impact on the personal agency of microenterprises i.e. personal objectives such as women empowerment. Originality/contribution: The study contributes to the gap in research in terms of investigating the phenomenon of e-Government accessibility in developing countries. The study also contributes new understanding by separating the ICT and e-Government into two commodities to identify and show where the accessibility problem emanates from. Furthermore, the study proposes a conceptual model that provides an opportunity for researchers to understand users such as micro-enterprises of Government-to-Business projects so that suitable recommendation on the next course of actions be proposed to relevant stakeholders of future Government-to-Business projects.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / This research aims to study [Software-as-a-Service] SaaS readiness and adoption in South Africa. South Africa is an emerging economy, but it has the qualities of both an emerging and a developing country. The telecommunications infrastructure in particular has the qualities of a developing country. This study focuses on small to medium sized organisations, comprising both enterprises and non-profit organisations. Molla and Licker's (2005a) Perceived E-Readiness Model (PERM) is adapted and used to study SaaS readiness and adoption. Important SaaS multi-theoretical factors were added to the PERM to increase the rigorousness of the model.

Several benefits have been attributed to E-government, including the potential to promote independence and belongingness for persons with disabilities (PWD) by enhancing participatory and inclusive governance. Hitherto, government services that required several and long journeys followed by long queues waiting for service at government offices can now be accessed online irrespective of the geographical location via E-government services. As a result, developing countries like Ghana continue to commit resources to the implementation of E-government to harness the associated benefits. Accessibility has been acknowledged, by both practitioners and those in academia, as a key consideration to prevent disparities among citizens which may put PWD at risk of exclusion. However, providing solutions to accessibility challenges for PWD has consistently proven difficult in most E-government implementation projects in developing countries. Therefore, this study investigates the accessibility of Egovernment services for PWD in Ghana with the aim of identifying how key E-government stakeholders perceive accessibility and the contextual drivers that lead to the exclusion of PWD in the development of E-government services. Also, this study seeks to understand if and how these stakeholders and contextual drivers reinforce the exclusionary process. The study employed an interpretive, inductive approach, with sensitising concepts from Egovernment accessibility literature, and the social exclusion framework. Multiple data collection methods were used, namely; observations as a preliminary step to obtaining a better understanding of how the visually impaired use ICTs; interviews as the primary data collection technique from 37 participants; and document analysis. The study involved 3 groups of participants: the visually impaired, E-government web developers and government officers. Data analysis was carried out in two phases- firstly thematic analysis was used to report on perceptions of government officers and developers on accessibility and the experiences of PWD. Contextual drivers impeding accessibility and affecting accessibility experience of PWD were also derived from the thematic analysis. Secondly, E-government and disability policy documents mentioned in interview discussions were analysed using content analysis. The findings of the content analysis were used to validate, clarify and to conduct post-interview checking. The findings show that government officers and developers play a key role in the development of E-government services. Whilst Government officers and developers were identified as powerful agents whose practices determined the accessibility of services that were developed; PWD were side-lined and not involved in the E-government development project. Also, perceptions of government officers and developers on accessibility vary from those of PWD. While government officers and developers believe that with little assistance from third parties PWD can access E-government services, PWD perceive accessibility should offer them the independence to retrieve government information and engage in electronic transactions of their choice. Evidently, accessibility perceptions of E-government implementers differ from that of PWD. Further, the findings show that exclusion of PWD from E-government services is as a result of the intertwining of several contextual drivers, including political, socio-cultural, technological and personal. Political, socio-cultural and technological drivers influence the perceptions and practices of government officers and developers and determine their responses to the accessibility needs of PWD. Personal drivers limit the capabilities of PWD to access Egovernment services and impact on their accessibility experiences. Contextual drivers independently facilitate the exclusion of PWD; however, their interactions with government officers and developers shape their perceptions and constitute crucial exclusionary forces. These exclusionary forces when fed into the development of E-government services reinforce the exclusion of PWD. Given that personal drivers limit the capabilities of PWD, their inabilities to act as change agents reinforce their exclusion. Moreover, power differentials among stakeholders play a vital role in the exclusionary process. The study contributes to better understanding of influences on the E-government development process, how services become inaccessible and the accessibility challenges PWD face. Practically, the study has several implications on the development and implementation of E-government services in developing countries like Ghana. For example, the findings are useful to inform the political leadership on policies and structures to put in place to enhance the accessibility of Egovernment services for PWD.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / Mobile banking in Zimbabwe as a new phenomenon has been generally unexploredacademically. The infant industry has seen various stakeholders step up to partake in thedevelopment of mobile banking services with various renditions of the phenomenonsurfacing. The coming together of the stakeholders from different backgrounds has not beenwithout complications. This study employs the Classic Grounded Theory methodology in aneffort to discover the main concerns of the stakeholders involved in the development ofmobile banking in Zimbabwe. The study finds that the main concern of these people ispartnering. A grounded theory on how the need for partnering is realised and pursued througha three stage process named the Realisations Process is developed. The Realisations Processis how the stakeholders involved resolve their main concern by initially realising their needfor partnering, reaching out to and engaging potential partners and eventually partnering withthem on the condition they similarly realise the need to partner.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been highlighted in literature as one of the most powerful tools in information systems to facilitate rapid decision-making, cost reduction and greater managerial control. With today's Information Technology (IT) market growth, South African Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have started to recognise ERP systems as a common and necessary platform. However, literature on this topic indicates that the majority of implementations do not meet organisations' expectations. Recent research studies indicate that more than a half of ERP implementations in SMEs fail. More importantly, the factors associated with ERP implementation success in South African SMEs are largely unknown. Furthermore, the high rate failure of ERP implementation in SME represent a threat to South Africa since SMEs are the backbone of the nation's economy. This research study therefore explores success implementation indicators and factors associated with ERP implementation in South African SMEs. In addressing the research questions, the study draws on a combination of the DeLone and McLean IS success model and the Technological, Organisational, Environmental (TOE) framework as well as a number of success factors identified through an extensive review of literature. Semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis are used to collect, analyse the data and to develop the ERP implementation success framework. The ERP implementation success framework is composed of four Information System (IS) success indicators and thirteen success factors. Although, findings established that there are relationships between four IS success indicators and thirteen success factors, only nine of the thirteen success factors were found to have direct relationships with the IS success indicators. The nine success factors are: ERP flexibility, ERP suitability, data accuracy, timeliness, top management support, change management, project management, user training and vendor support. The IS indicators from which these nine factors are related to: Management quality, system quality, information quality and service quality.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems because they promise significant benefits. However, the majority of ERP deployments rarely meet user expectations and often do not yield expected benefits. As a result, the failure rate of ERP implementations at SMEs is estimated to be between 40 and 60 percent. This high rate of failure, together with the resultant impact on SMEs and the consequences for national development is a cause for concern. In order to address this concern, this study aims to explore how SMEs develop their business cases, as well as how the benefits, risks and costs of ERP systems are realised in SMEs. Companies need a clear vision and convincing reasons when they adopt ERP systems. The study used the qualitative research method. Cases from South Africa and Zimbabwe were investigated in a cross-sectional study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using elements of thematic data analysis, grounded theory, and a general inductive approach to analysis. The Design Reality Gap Model formed a theoretical base and was used as lens for data collection and analysis.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / The research problem is: To what extent are governments of least developed countries ready to realise mobile government? Malawi as a least developed country was the sample used as case study. The objective was to assess the extent of government preparedness to realise mobile government in Malawi. To assess the government readiness for m-government, a study was conducted to find out the availability of factors that would support m-government and mobile services in Malawi. The motivation of the study was that there is scanty/no m-government readiness research that has been conducted before for LDCs. Concentration is not on the individual dimension such as technology, but rather the focus is on an overall m-government readiness, which includes the high level dimensions (themes) of technology, organisation, environment and tasks.

Includes bibliographical references. / Reports on information security breaches have risen dramatically over the past five years with 2014 accounting for some high-profile breaches including Goldman Sachs, Boeing, AT&T, EBay, AOL, American Express and Apple to name a few. One report estimates that 868,045,823 records have been breached from 4,347 data breaches made public since 2005 (Privacy Rights Clearing House, 2013). The theft of laptops, loss of unencrypted USB drives, hackers infiltrating servers, and staff deliberately accessing client’s personal information are all regularly reported (Park, 2014; Privacy Rights Clearing House, 2013) . With the rise of data breaches in the Information Age, the South African government enacted the long awaited Protection of Personal Information (PoPI) Bill at the end of 2013. While South Africa has lagged behind other countries in adopting privacy legislation (the European Union issued their Data Protection Directive in 1995), South African legislators have had the opportunity to draft a privacy Act that draws on the most effective elements from other legislation around the world. Although PoPI has been enacted, a commencement date has still to be decided upon by the Presidency. On PoPI’s commencement date organisations will have an additional year to comply with its requirements, before which they should: review the eight conditions for the lawful processing of personal information set out in Chapter three of the Act; understand the type of personal information they process ; review staff training on mobile technologies and limit access to personal information; ensure laptops and other mobile devices have passwords and are preferably encrypted; look at the physical security of the premises where personal data is store d or processed; and, assess any service providers who process in formation on their behalf. With the demands PoPI places on organisations this research aims to develop a prescriptive model providing organisations with the ability to measure their information privacy maturity based on “generally accepted information security practices and procedure s” ( Protection of Personal Information Act, No.4 of 2013 , sec. 19(3)) . Using a design science research methodology, the development process provides three distinct design cycles: 1) conceptual foundation 2) legal evaluation and 3) organisational evaluation. The end result is the development of a privacy maturity model that allows organisations to measure their current information privacy maturity against the PoPI Act. This research contributes to the knowledge of how PoPI impacts on South African organisations, and in turn, how organisations are able to evaluate their current information privacy maturity in respect of the PoPI Act. The examination and use of global best practices and standards as the foundation for the model, and the integration with the PoPI Act, provides for the development of a unique yet standards-based privacy model aiming to provide practical benefit to South African organisations.